


amber

by strawberryke



Series: witches & werewolves [1]
Category: Day6 (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe – Urban Fantasy, Blood, Childhood Friends, Grief/Mourning, Inspired by Teen Wolf (TV), Loss of Parent(s), M/M, Magic, Minor Character Death, Murder, Non-Graphic Violence, Prophetic Dreams, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-16 22:16:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29707377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawberryke/pseuds/strawberryke
Summary: He tried to brush it off as a coincidence, but then it happened again. Andagain. And no matter how he tried—he could never prevent it. The deaths would always happen, exactly as he had seen in his dreams. Only the timing was uncertain.But this time, it was different.This time, it was his mom.(Wherein Younghyun returns to his hometown to visit his mom before she dies, but the small town of Beacon Hills may have more in store for him than he could ever imagine)
Relationships: Kang Younghyun | Young K/Park Sungjin
Series: witches & werewolves [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2208162
Comments: 4
Kudos: 36





	amber

**Author's Note:**

> this is inspired by teen wolf, but i changed some of the lore, so just a heads up that eye colours won't mean the same thing as in the show

Younghyun watches out the window as they drive past the buildings of the town he grew up in. Everything is the same, but subtly different, and it has him feeling ever so slightly uncomfortable. It’s like a spot the difference game, but Younghyun can’t tell if the differences are actually there, or if his memory is to blame.

“What are you thinking so hard about, dear?” his mom asks, patting his hand lightly.

“Nothing,” he forces a smile to his lips. He hopes she can’t read his uneasiness; his mom had always been perceptive. “Just tired.”

She smiles. “We’ll be home soon.”

She hadn’t questioned it when he’d suddenly wanted to fly back to Beacon Hills to visit. They hadn’t seen each other in person in years.

She didn’t know the real reason Younghyun wanted to come back was because he knew she was going to die.

+++

Younghyun was sixteen when the dreams started. He had already moved away from home by then, and at first, he had thought they were just nightmares, dreams of random people dying. But then, one of the people in his dreams showed up on the news—they had been in a fatal car crash. And in Younghyun’s dream, that’s exactly what he had seen. A week before the crash actually happened.

He tried to brush it off as a coincidence, but then it happened again. And _again._ And no matter how he tried—he could never prevent it. The deaths would always happen, exactly as he had seen in his dreams. Only the timing was uncertain.

But this time, it was different.

This time, it was his mom.

+++

Coming from New York City, the city that never sleeps, and returning to sleepy small town Beacon Hills was definitely an adjustment for Younghyun. He doesn’t go out exploring alone though—he follows his mother around, spending as much time with her as possible. He doesn’t know when the events of his dream will occur, so he sticks to her side like glue. And he knows there’s nothing he can do to stop it, but he would be crazy not to spend every moment he can with her before it’s too late.

Younghyun does as much as he can. He cooks dinner for the two of them, helps her pick herbs from the garden for her clients, catches up with her late into the night.

But one thing he never tells her about are the dreams. The fear of death, and knowing exactly how it would happen, is not something he wants to put on his mother. So, he keeps it a secret, and waits until the moment will come.

When he won’t have her anymore.

+++

A few days into his visit, Younghyun comes down the stairs to see a police officer waiting by the door.

“Hello,” Younghyun says. The person turns and Younghyun’s eyes widen in surprise, a grin breaking out across his face. “Sungjin?”

“Younghyun?”

“It’s good to see you!” Younghyun laughs and throws his arms around Sungjin, who freezes in his arms. _Oh, not a hugger anymore?_ Younghyun is about to pull away and apologize, when Sungjin hugs him back.

It’s hesitant, and Sungjin holds him gently as if he’s fragile. Like if he holds on too tight, he might just slip away.

When they pull apart, Younghyun can see the surprise still written across his face.

_Note to self: don’t hug people until they’ve fully processed that you’re back in town._

“You remember me?” Sungjin asks.

“Of course,” Younghyun says with a laugh. “What kind of question is that?” He pauses to take in this version of Sungjin, the one he missed out on seeing change and grow. He stands straight in his police uniform, his old lanky boyish frame replaced by broad shoulders, only slightly shorter than Younghyun. He hasn’t lost the sparkle in his eyes though.

Younghyun hadn’t realized how much he had missed him.

“So, you’re a police officer now?” Younghyun asks.

Sungjin nods, a small smile on his lips. “Just passed the academy a few years ago. Are you here for long?”

Younghyun frowns. Technically, he doesn’t know _how_ long he’ll be here. And he can’t exactly say _until his mom dies._

That sounds downright morbid.

“Oh, not too long,” he says vaguely. “Just here for a visit really.”

Sungjin’s smile falters a bit. He looks almost—disappointed?

But before Younghyun can read too much into it, the look is gone and he’s turning to the door.

“I’ll see you around, okay? My break is over,” he says, smiling apologetically.

Younghyun bites his lip as Sungjin walks out the door, a little pang hitting his heart. There’s an awkwardness in the air that had never existed between them before.

Before, being friends with Sungjin had been easy.

+++

Sungjin and Younghyun had first met on the playground, as kids do a lot of the time. Younghyun and his friends had been playing tag, when Younghyun fell, scraping his knee on the pavement.

His friends hadn’t noticed, too busy with their game. But Sungjin did.

Younghyun only knew of him vaguely back then. Sungjin was a year older, so they were in different classes, but everyone in town knew of the Park family. They lived in a huge house on the hill, and had a big enough family to fill it, with too many cousins to count. Sometimes, Sungjin’s grandmother would come to his mom for herbs.

She would always give Younghyun candies. Younghyun liked her.

Sungjin had taken his hand that day and brought him to the nurse’s office. When they were done cleaning and bandaging the wound, Sungjin gave him a red lollipop from his pocket. He said he usually saved the red ones for himself because they were his favourite, but Younghyun looked like he needed it more.

After that, Younghyun got adopted into Sungjin’s friend group—who were mostly just his family members. Younghyun had been a bit jealous at first, after seeing how fun it was to have such a big family. For him, it was just himself and his mom. His dad had died when he was still a baby—Younghyun didn’t remember him at all.

Sungjin had smiled and said, “It’s okay, we’ll be your second family.”

And Younghyun had been happy with that.

But when he was thirteen, Younghyun left Beacon Hills to do an exchange program in New York. He never ended up coming back after that. His life in New York was a blur of studying, and then working, and then landing his job at a marketing firm.

It had been challenging, and definitely exciting, but sometimes, he can’t help wondering how his life would have turned out differently if he had never left Beacon Hills.

+++

A week into his stay, his mom forces him to go out and see other people. He should have seen it coming, honestly, his mom was always all about spreading your wings and leaving the nest. But he had been avoiding it as long as he could, mostly so he didn’t have to answer to:

_Why are you back in town?_

_How long are you staying?_

_Are you moving back to Beacon Hills?_

He didn’t have a good answer for any of that.

Sungjin had stopped by earlier that day. It turned out that he came regularly to pick up the herbs that his grandmother used to come for.

As he was about to leave, Younghyun’s mom dropped her ambush. “Sungjin, do you have plans for tonight?”

Sungjin shrugged. “Just the usual, hanging out with the pa—” his eyes flicked to Younghyun for a second. “Friends. Hanging out with friends.”

Younghyun frowned, wondering what Sungjin had been about to say.

“Great! So, you wouldn’t mind if Younghyun tagged along?”

“Mom!” He wasn’t a _child_ anymore; he didn’t need his mom to help him socialize. Besides, he had his reasons.

“What? Don’t _mom_ me, you’ve been spending everyday attached to my hip. I know it’s been years, dear, and you missed me, but you need to spend time with your friends! They’ve missed you too I’m sure,” she said, waving vaguely in Sungjin’s direction. He nodded to confirm her point. “I’m starting to wonder how you had any friends in New York!”

Younghyun pouted, he had plenty of friends in New York. But he couldn’t argue back, because he’s only been spending ever waking second with her because he feels like he’s on a timer, ticking ever so quickly downwards. And every second with her counts.

But he couldn’t tell her that, not now. _You’re going to die, but I don’t know when._

She’d probably just say _we’re all going to die someday, dear._

And that’s how Younghyun finds himself at a bar on a Friday night with Sungjin and all his old friends. He’s honestly a bit surprised that everyone is still here, in Beacon Hills. Wonpil, who’s parents own the bookstore in town, and a bunch of Sungjin’s cousins. Some of whom, Younghyun has never even met before. He wonders, not for the first time, how their family could be so big.

He had felt antsy at first, glancing at his phone every so often. He didn’t know what he even expected. Maybe a text saying, _hey, your mom was found dead in the shed behind your house?_

But after he gets a few drinks in, everything is nice and buzzy, and he can actually concentrate on the conversation around him. Everyone’s dynamic is somehow the same, but now with a more mature edge. Wonpil works at his parent’s bookstore, and the others hold various jobs around town too, and no one seems to have any desire to leave Beacon Hills. _The way he did._

Two of Sungjin’s cousins, Jinyoung and Jamie, end up in a pointless argument at one point. And when it starts getting too loud, when the other customers start sending glances their way, Sungjin stops it with just a glance, a sharp warning in his gaze.

The two apologize immediately, and the banter at the table picks up again like nothing happened.

The interaction surprises Younghyun, his eyebrows rising. Sungjin had always been the unspoken leader of the group when they were younger, but he had never really held any power over the others. It’s kind of impressive, in an intimidating way.

Do they listen to him now because he’s a police officer?

Younghyun’s thoughts are interrupted by the waitress coming over and asking him if he wants a refill. She smiles brightly, and doesn’t even bother to ask anyone else if they would like a refill too when Younghyun declines. The others jump on it.

“She totally has the hots for you!”

“Yeah, Younghyun, you should ask for her number.”

“If you don’t get her number, I will.”

Only Sungjin remains silent, staring down at his drink.

Younghyun shrugs. “You guys can go for it.”

Sungjin looks up and meets his eyes as the others start arguing over who can ask for the waitress’ number. His eyebrows furrow like he’s trying to solve a complicated puzzle.

+++

Sungjin drives him home after that, and as they talk, they seem to find their rhythm again. _Easy._ Like it used to be.

But when they arrive in front of Younghyun’s house, Sungjin asks, “That waitress, she was into you. Why didn’t you get her number?”

Younghyun shrugs, “Not my type.”

Sungjin goes silent for a moment, staring at his hands on the steering wheel. “Then what is your type?” he asks. His voice has gone soft—he sounds hesitant, unsure. The easiness Younghyun had felt earlier is gone, now replaced by a tension that he’s scared to break.

“I don’t know yet, but it wasn’t her,” Younghyun says finally.

A small smile curves up Sungjin’s lips. “Well, let me know when you do figure it out.”

Younghyun grins back, relieved to see Sungjin’s serious look gone. “I will. Goodnight, Sungjin,” he says, opening the car door.

“Goodnight, Younghyun.”

+++

When Younghyun’s mom doesn’t die for a month, he becomes increasingly comfortable with being in Beacon Hills. And as the days go by, he has this tiny hope that maybe, maybe this time, the death predictor in his head is broken. That maybe his mom isn’t actually going to die.

And the more time he spends here, the more he realizes that he had missed Beacon Hills.

Maybe he’ll always be a small-town boy at heart.

But one morning, he goes down to the kitchen, and his mom isn’t there like she would usually be, making coffee and reading the news. His heart drops to his stomach as he runs to her bedroom. It’s fine, maybe she’s just sleeping in.

But she’s not there either.

Younghyun opens the back door and walks through the garden, not even bothering to pull on his shoes or a jacket. His feet get wet in the cold dew on the grass, and the chill seeps through his thin t-shirt. But he doesn’t notice any of it.

Tears are already streaking down his cheeks by the time he opens the door to the shed and sees his mom’s body lying on the floor, just as he had seen in his dream.

+++

Sungjin arrives with what seems to be the entire police force of Beacon Hills. Murders aren’t common in this small town, and it looks like they’ve pulled in everyone they could.

Younghyun watches as they pull into the driveway from his spot sitting on the front step. He doesn’t feel anything anymore—his tears had run dry a while ago. He directs the detectives, and forensics, and whoever else to the shed in the backyard. And he just sits there.

Sungjin pulls an emergency blanket from the trunk of the police car. The foil siding of it reflects the early morning sunlight into Younghyun’s eyes, making him squint. He frowns. How could the sun be shining so brightly when all he feels is darkness?

Sungjin walks up and drapes the blanket over his shoulders.

“Do you want to go inside? It’s cold out here.”

Younghyun shakes his head no. Everything inside reminds him of _her._

So Sungjin sits with him on the doorstep and takes his statement. And then he sits with him a bit longer until Younghyun feels okay enough to go back inside.

+++

The funeral is a few days later, with an empty casket because her body is part of the murder investigation. Younghyun had thought he was prepared; he had known about her death for more than a month in advance. But he guesses you can’t ever be prepared for the gaping hole left in your life by a person who meant so much to you.

People come by with food to the house—more food than Younghyun even knows what to do with. Younghyun had known that his mom had a lot of customers for her herbs, but it seems like the entire town has made it their mission to take care of him. Wonpil, Sungjin, and some of the Park cousins come over often, under the guise of helping him clear out the fridge, but he knows they’re checking up on him.

Surprisingly, it’s a welcome distraction.

One night, as he sees them to the door, Sungjin pauses before they leave.

“Stay inside tonight, okay?” he says earnestly, his eyebrows drawn together.

Wonpil nods, “It’s a full moon.”

Younghyun is about to make a joke, but both Sungjin and Wonpil look completely serious.

So, he agrees. He hadn’t been planning on leaving the house tonight anyway.

Later, he glances out the window as he’s washing the dishes, and what he sees takes his breath away. The plants in the garden are _glowing_ in the moonlight. Younghyun moves closer to the window, the sponge and dishes dropped forgotten in the sink. This is impossible right? He thinks he must be dreaming. Younghyun walks out the back door without a second thought, solely focused on seeing the glowing plants up close.

Younghyun runs his fingers along a pink flower that glows particularly bright. He remembers it clearly—his mom would often keep some of them in a vase on the kitchen table. They had never glowed then. Younghyun stares wide eyed around him, it should be dark, but the glow of the plants is lighting up the entire garden. Is it because of the full moon? Had his mom known about this?

No, this definitely must be a dream.

In real life, his mom was dead, and flowers didn’t glow, and he was a crazy person who could somehow predict how people were going to die, but _not be able to do a single thing to stop it._ He drops to his knees, head in his hands. What was the point of this?

Coming here before his mom died, maybe all it did was make it worse for himself. He hadn’t been able to change anything in the end.

A helpless sob escapes his lips, and Younghyun cries there, on his knees, in the middle of the glowing garden. The tears he had held in since the day he found his mother’s body, now flow free. He drops his hands to the ground, fisting his fingers into the soft grass. Anything to tell him whether this was real or not. A tiny hopeful part of him thinks that maybe these entire few months were the dream, and he would wake up the next morning back in his apartment in New York, his mother still alive and well in Beacon Hills.

A noise catches his attention then, a rustle of leaves, and then a snap of a twig. Soft footfalls approach him. Younghyun looks up and meets the eyes of a huge grey wolf.

Fear grips him, his heart racing. Everything he’s ever learned about dealing with wild animals flies out of his mind, and he snatches at it desperately. He’s supposed to avoid eye contact, right?

Too late for that. He’s currently engaged in a staring contest with a wolf.

Younghyun shuts his eyes tight, praying that the wolf ignores him. He waits with baited breath, listening for any sign that the wolf is walking away, or towards him, or even moving at all.

Instead, he feels something wet touching him, and he opens his eyes in surprise to the wolf giving a long lick up one side of his face, effectively wiping away his tears. He stares as the wolf sits down. It doesn’t seem to be leaving any time soon.

More tears roll down Younghyun’s cheeks now, quickly replacing the ones wiped away. This wolf is definitely a dream wolf, and when he wakes up there will be no more glowing flowers, and only an empty house filled with memories of his mother.

The wolf whines softly. _Don’t cry,_ it seems to say.

“I miss her so much,” Younghyun whispers, curling up on the ground.

The wolf lays down, its head resting on its paws, eyes trained on Younghyun’s face. It cocks its head to the side. _I know,_ it seems to say sadly.

The wolf inches closer, resting its head on Younghyun’s neck, letting him stroke its coat. It’s strangely comforting, feeling the wolf’s breath across the nape of his neck, the warmth of its weight on top of him, the feeling of coarse fur beneath his fingers.

It makes him remember the warmth of his mother and that sets him off again. He curls tightly in on himself, crying hard. The wolf whines, nudging at his head with its nose, but Younghyun can’t stop. He grips tightly onto the wolf’s coat as sobs rack his body—it must be painful, him pulling on its fur like this, but the wolf lets him.

It’s the only thing grounding him.

Younghyun doesn’t know how long they stay like that, but his fingers eventually relax their hold in the wolf’s coat, and his sobs ease. The wolf stays with him the entire time, and he’s thankful for it. His surprisingly friendly dream wolf.

Younghyun’s breathing slows and he relaxes into the grass.

He’s not sure how much more time passes in silence before a howl cuts through the peacefulness of the garden, coming from the forest. His wolf gets up abruptly, and starts nudging at Younghyun’s side. _Get up._

Younghyun does so slowly, in a cried-out daze, and another howl joins the first. Two wolves, and they sound close. The other dream wolves must not be as nice as this one, because his wolf starts shoving at Younghyun more urgently, back towards the safety of the house.

If his dream wolf is scared, Younghyun figures he should be scared too, and he runs up the stairs to the back door of the house. He turns to see the wolf staring up at him, and its eyes glow amber for a moment. Younghyun is transfixed.

But then it howls, long and low, answering the howls of the other wolves. Younghyun turns to get into the house, slamming the door shut behind him.

Late into the night, he listens to the howls until he falls asleep.

He doesn’t dream of anything.

+++

The next morning, there’s a knock at the door, and Younghyun opens it to Sungjin standing at his doorstep in full police uniform.

“You went out last night,” he says.

Younghyun blinks in surprise, memories of last night coming back to him slowly. Had that all been real? But how did Sungjin know?

“Promise me you won’t go out again during the full moon.”

Younghyun has so many questions, but Sungjin looks as serious as he did when he told him to stay inside in the first place, and also extremely concerned to top it off. Explaining that the reason he had gone out was to see some glowing flowers doesn’t seem like it would go over very well.

“I’m fine, nothing happened. I just met a surprisingly nice wolf.”

Sungjin’s face softens. “Not all the creatures you meet will be as nice.”

Younghyun thinks of the other wolves’ howls and shivers. “Okay, I promise.”

Sungjin gives him a gentle smile at that, and reaches out to flatten Younghyun’s bed hair. It’s nice, and comforting, and damn it, when had he become so starved for physical contact? He’d thought all his tears had run dry after last night, but he was wrong. Younghyun’s eyes sting and he bites his lip, staring back at Sungjin.

Sungjin’s eyes widen. “I’m sorry, did I scare you?” he says worriedly, “Please don’t cry.” His hands flit around Younghyun like he’s scared to touch him again, but then he settles on wrapping his arms around him. Younghyun feels the lump in his throat ease as he relaxes into the hug, and Sungjin pats his back like he doesn’t know what to do with hands.

But then, as Younghyun turns his head to rest his cheek on Sungjin’s shoulder, Sungjin takes in a sharp breath. His nose brushes lightly over the side of Younghyun’s neck, and Younghyun can feel Sungjin’s chest expand against him as he breathes in deeply.

Younghyun lets out a surprised laugh. “Do I smell good or something?”

“Yeah, you do,” he murmurs. His lips move against Younghyun’s skin as he speaks, making a shiver travel down his spine.

Well, this is weird. But he kind of likes it.

Sungjin’s lips move against his skin gently, and maybe it’s too early in the morning for this because it’s making Younghyun feel lightheaded. He turns his head further to give him better access, and lets out a soft sigh when Sungjin presses his lips to his pulse point.

Sungjin seems to be brought back to reality by that noise, because he pulls away abruptly. “I’m sorry, I—” He starts backing down the stairs, eyes wide. “I’ll leave now. Just be careful, okay?”

Younghyun grips tightly to the railing, still feeling dizzy and no longer having Sungjin to hold him up. He’s speechless from the _kiss?_ Or whatever that was. All he can do is nod mutely and watch as Sungjin turns to walk briskly down the driveway. Younghyun wants to call him back, to tell him to keep doing _whatever that was_ because it felt good, but Sungjin looks kind of freaked out that he even did it in the first place.

Younghyun watches in silence as Sungjin gets back into the police car and drives away.

+++

A few days later, despite the endless supply of food from the people in town, Younghyun is craving breakfast. A real breakfast, not just leftovers of lunch and dinner food. Plus, he was starting to get antsy from staying inside the house for days on end.

Going on an outing, even if it’s just to the supermarket, would be good for him.

Younghyun makes the drive to get some eggs and toast, and it’s when he’s there that he sees _them._ He had only seen their faces for a few seconds in the dream, but it was unmistakable. Younghyun follows the pair as quietly as he can. They’re walking around so casually that it makes Younghyun angry, gripping the handle of his shopping cart tightly. How could they just go about their lives, knowing that they’d taken someone else’s? And an innocent life at that?

Younghyun wants to confront them, but he knows that would be dumb. Two against one, when he’d seen how vicious these men could be, was definitely a terrible idea.

He drops his groceries and runs back to his car before he can do something stupid.

Should he call the police? But what would he say? _Hi, my mother’s murderers are at the supermarket, but I have zero proof because I saw it all in my dreams._

Younghyun scrolls through his phone, his finger hovering over Sungjin’s name, before he finally hits call.

Sungjin picks up almost immediately. “Hello?”

“Sungjin, I know this is gonna sound crazy, but I just saw my mom’s murderers at the supermarket.”

“What? How do you know it was them?” Sungjin asks.

“I don’t have any proof, I just know.”

“Younghyun.” There’s a warning in his tone. “Did you do something illegal?”

“No! No, I swear I didn’t.”

“Then why can’t you tell me how you know?”

Younghyun bites his lip, glancing up at the supermarket’s doors. They haven’t come out yet.

“I saw it in a dream.”

Sungjin goes silent on the other end of the line.

“I know this sounds insane, but that’s why I came back. I dreamt of my mom dying, and I saw the people who killed her in my dream, and now I saw them in the supermarket! I know you won’t believe me, but that’s the truth.” Younghyun grips his phone tightly, bracing himself for Sungjin to start laughing at him.

“Of course, I believe you. You have the Sight too?”

“The what? Wait—you believe me?” Younghyun freezes in his seat. “Sungjin, they’re coming out! What do I do? Should I follow them?”

“No. Stay where you are, I’m coming.” Younghyun can hear movement on the other end of the line, as if Sungjin started running. “Remember as many details about their car and what they look like as you can.”

“But—”

“Younghyun, they’re killers. They’re dangerous. And I’m not letting you die too.”

Younghyun huffs out a breath. He hates that Sungjin is right. “Okay, I’ll stay here.”

“Good, I’m on my way.”

Sungjin must have broken multiple speed limits and red lights to get there, because he’s pulling up next to Younghyun’s car less than five minutes later. He climbs into the passenger seat.

“Tell me everything,” he says. “Including the dream.”

Younghyun bites his lip, he’s never told anyone about his dreams before. But as he describes everything, Sungjin writes notes, not saying anything about how Younghyun must be crazy for thinking a dream is enough proof to identify a murderer.

It sounds stupid even to his own ears.

When Younghyun is done, Sungjin nods, closing his notepad. “I can’t arrest them with this, but now that we’ve identified them it should help the investigation.”

“You really believe me about the dream?”

“Yeah, of course.” His eyebrows furrow when he sees the look on Younghyun’s face. “Wait, your mom never told you?”

“Never told me what?”

Sungjin frowns. “Did she know about your dreams?”

“I never told anyone,” Younghyun says with a shake of his head. “Except you, right now.”

Sungjin runs a hand through his hair, letting out a breath. “Okay,” he says, turning to make eye contact with Younghyun. “Don’t freak out.”

“Okay.”

“Your mom was a witch,” Sungjin says.

“A witch. Like with magic? Like Sabrina the Teenage Witch?”

Sungjin smiles wryly at that. “Not exactly like on TV, but yeah. And she had the Sight too, like you.”

“The seeing people dying thing?”

Sungjin nods.

Younghyun turns away from Sungjin, staring out the front windshield of the car with wide eyes. “Okay.” This is fine. Totally makes sense.

He turns back to Sungjin when a thought comes to him. “Is that why the flowers glow?”

Sungjin nods.

“So, she wasn't a naturopath.”

“No.”

“She was making like, magic potions and stuff.”

“Yeah.”

His mother was a _witch._

Everything seems to click into place. How her herbs always seemed to work better than any other medicine, even for small things like headaches and colds. How the plants in her garden never died, even in winter when the frosts would hit. It was because they were _magic._

And Younghyun wasn’t crazy for seeing how people were going to die in his dreams. Because _that was magic too._

“Why didn’t she ever tell me,” he whispers, leaning back against the headrest. Younghyun feels tears prick his eyes. If she had just told him that she was a witch, if he had just told her that he had these dreams—how different would everything be now?

Sungjin shakes his head. “I don’t know,” he says softly, frowning in thought.

“Wait, but why do _you_ know about all this?”

Sungjin winces. “Let’s just say me and my family aren’t exactly normal humans either.”

“Oh. Okay,” Younghyun replies after a moment when Sungjin doesn’t elaborate any further.

What does _not exactly normal humans_ mean? Does Sungjin have magic too?

“Maybe we should go talk to my grandma.”

“Okay,” Younghyun says, because he doesn’t know what to do with this information, and talking to Sungjin’s grandma seems like as good of an idea as any.

+++

Sungjin leaves Younghyun at his house so he can go back to the police station to put out a search for the murderers. Younghyun waits alone in the living room, looking around as the memories come back to him. The house, what he’s seen of it so far, is exactly how it used to be. Younghyun used to spend hours on end here after school, with Sungjin, Wonpil, and everyone else, that it feels strange to be here again.

It feels like he went in a time machine, back to his childhood.

Mrs. Park brings him tea and scones for the breakfast he never got a chance to eat earlier that morning.

It’s quiet, the only noise in the living room the ticking of the clock and Mrs. Park’s slow rocking in the rocking chair. Younghyun had caught a glimpse of her at the funeral too, but now he could get a better look at her. She’s older of course, the passage of time evident from the wrinkles on her face and the slower pace of her walk. She doesn’t say anything, seemingly happy to just sip her tea and watch him eat with a fond smile on her face. Younghyun is three scones in when he decides to break the silence.

“Mrs. Park, do you know why my mom never told me about all this?”

“Ah,” she says as she rocks back in her chair. “To answer that one, we need to go back to the beginning. Years ago, when you were very young, there was a feud among all the supernatural beings in Beacon Hills. Thinking back on it now, it was over something small, insignificant. Boundary lines, which territory belonged to who, it was a downright mess. But while it ended in peace, there were still casualties. Your father was one of them, and my daughter and her husband—Sungjin’s parents.”

Younghyun’s eyes are wide, his fourth scone forgotten on his plate.

“Your father, he was a normal human. But he helped your mother with the coven, and ended up dying for it. After that, your mother swore that if you turned out to not have any magic of your own, she would send you away from here, to protect you. She urged us all to keep everything a secret from you so that you wouldn’t be involved.”

“But I did end up having the dream thing.”

Mrs. Park nods. “For witches, any magical ability usually shows itself by the time they turn thirteen.” She smiles, a soft look on her face. “Little did your mother know that you would just be a late bloomer.”

Younghyun bites his lip. Stupid him and his stupid magic appearing just a few years too late.

“Don’t cry, sweet Younghyun. It’s not your fault.” She gets up to sit beside him on the couch, taking his hand in hers. Her fingers are warm around his, and she strokes the back of his hand with her thumb, “Every time I look at you, I see that small child, always standing by Sungjin’s side. How you’ve grown.”

Younghyun has to change the topic, or he really is going to cry.

“Sungjin’s parents died there too?” he whispers.

Mrs. Park nods. She doesn’t seem sad, the small smile still on her lips. Maybe it was acceptance.

“You probably don’t know this, dear, but of everyone living in this house, Sungjin is my only biological grandchild.”

Younghyun’s jaw slackens in surprise. He counts them up in his head. There were at least seven other Park cousins—that he had met.

Mrs. Park laughs lightly at his reaction. “Yes, they’re all strays and runaways taken in over the years. We have this big house, why not put it to use, right?” Her eyes twinkle in the sunlight coming in through the windows. Like Sungjin’s. “My daughter was supposed to take over, to be the leader of this family when I got too old. But since she passed, that responsibility was put on—”

“Sungjin.” No wonder the others listened to him. He thinks back to the fight Sungjin stopped at the bar all those weeks ago.

“He makes a fine leader, don’t you think? He worked hard to get everyone to respect him.” She eyes Younghyun for a second. “He’s reluctant to rely on anyone, even me. Be patient with him, sweet one.”

“I—” he searches her face, looking for any explanation of what she means by that. He comes up empty. “Okay,” is all he can say in the end.

They fall silent again, Younghyun finally getting back to his scone, when he remembers his other question.

“Mrs. Park, are you and Sungjin witches too? Like my mom?”

She smiles brightly, as if that was just the question she was waiting for. She doesn’t say anything, just shuts her eyes for a moment.

And when they reopen, her eyes shine bright amber.

Just like the dream wolf in the garden.

+++

Younghyun ends up sitting with Mrs. Park for hours, long enough that Sungjin gets back from the police station and she asks Younghyun to stay for dinner. And then she asks him to stay the night, because isn’t it lonely all alone in that big house?

She _is_ right about that.

Jamie laughs saying Mrs. Park has found her newest stray to take in.

But as much as Mrs. Park encouraged Younghyun to stay, they don’t actually have any spare bedrooms. They’re all taken up by _cousins?_ Younghyun doesn’t know if he can call them that anymore, considering they’re not actually related. Sungjin lets Younghyun have his room, after much protest, with Sungjin saying he’ll sleep on the couch.

+++

Younghyun writhes in bed, and his eyes fly open to see Sungjin hovering over him. It’s hard to breathe—it feels like there’s a weight on top of his chest, and his heart races frantically. Younghyun reaches out for something, anything, and Sungjin takes his flailing hand in his, holding on tight. The bed dips as Sungjin sits down beside him.

“Did you have a dream?” he asks.

Younghyun nods. He goes to sit up and Sungjin helps pull him by their linked hands. The memories of the dream play on repeat, and he shudders all over, tears streaking down his cheeks. This murder had been by far one of the most gruesome deaths he’d ever seen.

That was the thing about his dreams. If you were seeing something in real life, you could always close your eyes. But in the death dreams, he couldn’t do that. He was forced to watch as someone’s life was taken away before his very eyes.

It was a strange kind of torture.

“It’s gonna be okay,” Sungjin breathes.

Younghyun wrenches his hand back. “No. It’s not going to be okay,” he says viciously. Sungjin’s eyes widen. “A man is going to die, and there’s nothing we can do to stop it. It’s not okay, and it’s never _going_ to be okay.”

Younghyun drops his face into his hands. This is so hopeless, and pointless, and he wishes he could just be _normal._ What was the point of having magic if it couldn’t change anything?

“You’re right,” Sungjin says after a stretch of silence.

Younghyun looks up. He had forgotten Sungjin was even there, he had been so quiet.

“We can’t save that man, but we can use what you saw to find them. To make sure they don’t kill anyone else,” Sungjin says, his eyebrows drawn together. “The Sight doesn’t cause more deaths, Younghyun. What you see will happen, and it was always supposed to happen, but now we know about it. And we can use that knowledge.”

Younghyun bites his lip.

“This is how your mom explained it to me once: it’s like a movie trailer. The movie is already made—there’s no changing it now. But the trailer comes before that. All it adds is knowledge of what’s to come.”

Younghyun blinks back at Sungjin, processing his words. He’s right. And that does sound exactly like something his mom would say.

“Worst movie trailer ever,” Younghyun says, swiping the tears away from his cheeks angrily.

Sungjin smiles that small soft smile. “Yeah, pretty bad movie too.”

Younghyun lies back down onto the bed slowly. His entire body feels heavy, drained of energy. “I’m sorry for snapping at you,” he whispers.

“It’s okay,” Sungjin says. “I can take it.”

Younghyun thinks he’s joking at first, but the look on his face is completely sincere.

“Sleep now, we can talk about what you saw in the morning.”

“Okay,” Younghyun whispers. He feels small and scared, like a child. And he really hopes Sungjin doesn’t leave.

Sungjin gets up.

“Could you stay?” Younghyun blurts out. “Please?”

“Are you sure?” Sungjin asks, turning back in surprise.

“Yes, I’m sure. Unless you snore really loud or something.”

Sungjin laughs, coming around to the other side of the bed. He lays on his back, keeping as much distance as possible between the two of them. Younghyun has to smile. That’s something that hasn’t changed since childhood—Park Sungjin, the definition of polite and respectful.

Younghyun’s eyes start to flutter shut, the allure of sleep pulling him in. But Sungjin is breathing weirdly, like he just smelled something familiar and is trying to figure out what it is. And it’s distracting.

“Why are you breathing like that?” Younghyun murmurs.

Sungjin’s snaps to face him, his eyes wide. He must have thought that Younghyun was already sleep.

“My entire bed smells like you.”

That’s just so ridiculous, and Younghyun is so exhausted, that he can’t help laughing out loud. He laughs until he’s curled in half on his side, out of breath. And when he opens his eyes again, Sungjin is smiling at him, his eyes curved into crescents. Younghyun reaches across the space in the middle of the bed and finds Sungjin’s hand under the sheets, twining their fingers together.

“Goodnight, Sungjin,” he whispers.

“Goodnight, Younghyun.”

+++

The next day, they go to Wonpil’s parents’ bookstore. Because apparently, the bookstore is just a front and it’s actually a witchy magic store.

Younghyun thinks he should have seen that coming.

Wonpil spreads out a map of Beacon Hills onto a large table in the middle of the store.

“Now, describe everything,” Wonpil says.

Younghyun recounts moment for moment everything that had happened in his dream. A young man was tied up to a chair in a one-room shack. He could hear the lap of water, probably the lake, and the crickets were loud too. There was another person tied up in another corner, but Younghyun couldn’t see them clearly—the edges of his dreams were usually blurred, the focus was on the person who was going to die. There were two killers.

Younghyun’s voice shakes when he gets to the next part, and Sungjin takes his hand reassuringly, holding it tight.

The young man had tried to put up a fight, writhing and thrashing in his chair. But it was useless. They slashed his neck, blood spattering everywhere. There was even more stabbing after that. The killers seemed to have a vengeance against him.

“After everything, it was weird, but when they were getting rid of his body, I swear I saw a tattoo on his finger that looked the same as the one my mom had.”

Sungjin blinks in surprise. “What tattoo?”

“You know, that heart thing she had on her finger?”

“You mean like this?” Wonpil asks, raising up his right hand.

Younghyun leans in, looking at it closely. Wonpil has a heart shaped tattoo on the inside of his ring finger, in the same shape and spot as his mom’s. “Yeah! Exactly like that.”

Wonpil and Sungjin exchange a glance.

“Why do you have the same tattoo?” Younghyun asks.

“It’s the symbol of our coven,” Wonpil says. He bites his lip, worry clear on his face.

“Two witches being killed by the same people is no coincidence,” Sungjin says grimly. “These are witch hunters.”

+++

Sungjin goes to talk with the coven leaders while Younghyun stays with Wonpil at the shop. _Coven leaders._ That takes him a second to process. Not only was his mom a witch, but there were more of them—enough to create a coven—all here in Beacon Hills.

How had he never noticed?

While Sungjin is gone, Wonpil tells Younghyun about what his mom was like as a witch. It’s strange that there was this entire other part of her life, of her _identity_ , that he knew nothing about. But somehow, it’s not surprising at all. Everything Wonpil tells him fits perfectly on top of the mom he already knew.

He wishes he could have known this other part of her too, when she was still alive.

A customer comes into the shop, and Younghyun recognizes him. He used to come to the house when he was younger, a client of his mom’s.

“Geez, Wonpil, it reeks like dogs in here.”

Wonpil winces. “Don’t be rude.”

“It’s true,” the man says with a shrug.

Wonpil introduces them—the man’s name is Jae.

Jae smiles sadly as he offers his hand for a handshake. Younghyun flinches when they touch but Jae doesn’t seem to notice, or doesn’t care. His hand is icy cold.

“I remember seeing you at the house when you were younger. I’m sorry for your loss.”

“I remember you too,” Younghyun says, surreptitiously trying to warm up his hand by crossing his arms over his chest. “But how do you look exactly the same after so many years?”

Jae grins wickedly. He closes his eyes, and when he opens them again, they glow bright red. His canines come down into sharp fangs.

“Oh.”

Younghyun can just imagine his fangs piercing into someone’s throat. A shiver runs down his spine.

Jae wrinkles his nose then, sniffing gingerly at his fingers—the fingers of the hand he used to shake Younghyun’s.

Younghyun frowns. What was with people around here and smelling him?

“You smell like the dogs too, especially the alpha.” Jae practically snarls out the last few words. He’s still in vampire mode, and it’s making everything he says a hundred times scarier. His eyes flash an even angrier shade of red. “Are you his mate?”

Younghyun freezes, pinned under the vampire’s gaze.

His—

_Mate?_

Wonpil lets out a nervous laugh, practically shoving Jae out the door before he even has a chance to open up his umbrella to block the sunlight. He hisses as he’s pushed out onto the sunny sidewalk, but Wonpil remains unbothered. “Come back tomorrow morning, Jae, your potions will be ready by then.”

“I’m sorry,” Wonpil says once the door shuts behind him. “Vampires, werewolves, you know.” He waves his hand vaguely as if to help explain his point. “Good thing Sungjin wasn’t here for that, or we might have had an actual brawl on our hands.”

“Like Twilight?” is all Younghyun can offer weakly.

“Yeah! Just like Twilight.” Wonpil goes back to his spot behind the counter as if that’s all the explanation Younghyun needs.

Younghyun goes back to the table with the map and sits down heavily, resting his cheek on the smooth wood. Maybe he wasn’t as okay with all this yet as he had thought.

+++

It’s late in the evening, and Younghyun has been helping Wonpil put away spell books on the shelves. When he comes around the corner of the bookshelves, he stops dead in his tracks. A young man, around his age, is just stepping out of the store.

It’s _him._

Younghyun doesn’t give it a second thought before he’s running out the doors of the store and following the young man at a distance. He doesn’t know what he’s trying to accomplish here. Should he warn him that he’s going to be murdered?

Younghyun hadn’t noticed how dark it had gotten while he was in Wonpil’s shop, and he shivers in the evening chill as he follows the young man. He doesn’t notice Younghyun, walking at a leisurely pace towards the end of the row of stores. Wonpil’s shop is already on the outskirts of town, so the further they walk, the emptier everything becomes.

Younghyun bites his lip, pausing. This doesn’t seem safe. He’s about to turn back, maybe Wonpil will know this guy’s name and they can find his phone number or something. As he’s standing there debating, a van pulls up beside the young man and _crap._ It’s the same van he saw at the supermarket.

Younghyun freezes. He should really run. He should shout. He should do _something._ But he can’t move a muscle.

His eyes are fixed on what’s happening before him.

One of the men jumps out of the van and holds a cloth over the young man’s face until he passes out. Then he drags him into the van, and they’re about to drive off, when Younghyun accidentally makes eye contact with the driver in the side mirror.

Now he really should run.

Younghyun turns, but something hits him in the leg before he can get very far. He lets out a cry, falling to the ground. It’s just a stinging feeling really, but numbness is quickly spreading through his leg to the rest of his body. One of the men comes for him, dragging him by his numb leg, and Younghyun’s head hits the pavement, his cheek dragging against the ground.

It should hurt, but it doesn’t.

And then everything turns black.

+++

Younghyun shifts his body, and realizes he can’t move. His eyes fly open, and as he looks around, he sees he’s in a shack. The shack from the dream. Across from him is the young man, eyeing him carefully.

And then he realizes. The second person held hostage in the dream had been _himself._

He tries squirming against the ropes around him, but it’s no use. They’re tied so tightly that he can barely even breathe.

“What’s your name?” the young man asks.

“Younghyun.”

“I’m Jaebeom. Why are you crying?”

“Because we’re going to die.”

Jaebeom grins, and Younghyun thinks he must be crazy. “You don’t know that.”

“How are you so brave right now?” Younghyun asks weakly.

His face softens. “Do I look brave?”

Younghyun nods.

Jaebeom turns his head to show the sweat dripping down his hairline. “Fake it ‘til you make it, right?” His grin returns. “Keep your chin up, we’re not dead yet.”

Younghyun bites his lip.

“If you were going to die, would you want to know?”

Jaebeom blinks in surprise. “Well, yeah?”

“Are you sure?” Younghyun asks.

Jaebeom seems to consider it, his eyes widening. And then he nods.

“I’m sorry,” is all Younghyun can whisper.

The answer must be clear by the look on Younghyun’s face. “Oh. Well then.” Jaebeom stares at Younghyun for a few moments before his eyebrows furrow. “Wait, did you say your name is Younghyun? You’re Kang Younghyun, aren’t you? You have the Sight, like your mom?”

Younghyun nods.

Jaebeom takes a deep breath. He seems resigned. “Everyone has to die someday, right?” he says shakily, the smile returning to his face.

Younghyun’s eyes fill with fresh tears. At one point, he remembers thinking that’s exactly what his mother would have said.

Heavy footfalls come up the steps to the shack and Jaebeom’s face hardens, the smile disappearing. “Give them hell, okay? Don’t go down easy.”

The men burst into the room, dragging in two body bags behind them.

Younghyun shuts his eyes tight. He already knows what’s going to happen next. He wishes he could cover his ears too—every sound seems amplified. Jaebeom’s struggling. The witch hunters swearing.

The sound of the knife slicing through his throat.

Even though he knew it was coming, Younghyun still flinches when Jaebeom’s blood hits his face.

He hears the sounds of the repeated stabbing, untying Jaebeom’s body from the chair, zipping him into the body bag. After a few moments of silence, Younghyun risks opening his eyes to see one of the men walking towards him, knife in hand. He stares at the man, eyes wide, taking quick short breaths.

Fear and anger mix inside him until he doesn’t know which is which.

What right did they have to take lives, _innocent_ lives?

Younghyun’s heart races.

_Give them hell._

He shuts his eyes tight and tells himself he can do anything. He can get rid of these men, for his mom, for Jaebeom, before they could kill anyone else.

Younghyun opens his mouth and screams as loud as he can.

There’s a loud bang, the shattering of glass, and Younghyun sags against the ropes tying him to the chair, feeling like he got punched in the gut. He opens his eyes to see the doors and windows have been blown out, and the witch hunters lean heavily against the walls as if they had been thrown there. They watch him in horror.

Did _he_ do that?

“His eyes, they’re _blue,_ ” one of the men hisses. “He _is_ one of them.”

“We don’t care for your parlour tricks, witch,” the other hunter says. “We know you can’t do anything more without your little potions and spells.” Despite his words, he seems wary, stalking slowly toward Younghyun again with the knife.

That’s all the hell Younghyun thinks he can give. He can feel his grip on reality slipping away, the edges of his vision going black.

_I’m sorry, I did my best._

The hunter draws closer, just a foot away now. He could easily reach out with the knife, and—

Younghyun squeezes his eyes shut again, bracing himself for the pain.

Heavy footfalls resound running up the steps and Younghyun snaps up in surprise. Were there more witch hunters? Did they have backup? Did they have some other method of cruel death planned for him?

Fear rises in his throat, his heart racing as fast as the questions in his mind.

But then, standing in the place where the door used to be, silhouetted by the forest behind, is someone with glowing amber eyes. Two more figures follow closely, wolves’ teeth in still human faces, sharp claws extending from their fingers.

_Werewolves._

They pounce on the witch hunters, and Younghyun shuts his eyes again. He’s not going to watch more death if he can avoid it.

After what seems like an eternity, but was probably only a few seconds, everything goes silent. Younghyun feels a light touch on his knee, and opens his eyes to meet Sungjin’s amber ones, staring up at him. Younghyun watches in fascination as he changes back to human form, features morphing back to those he knows so well.

Sungjin reaches out hesitantly, wiping at the blood on his face, concern in his eyes.

“I’m fine,” Younghyun whispers. “It’s not my blood.”

+++

“At first we narrowed it down to these two shacks, based on what Younghyun said about the lake and the crickets,” Dowoon says, practically vibrating from the excitement of it all. Younghyun turns from the passenger seat of the car to listen. Jinyoung had just arrived a few minutes ago, and Dowoon was filling him in with enthusiasm, as if this was the most interesting thing to ever happen in his life.

“We have an extensive knowledge of the shacks in the forest,” Jamie says, when she notices Younghyun listening. “Helpful for storing clothes during the full moon. You know, so you don’t have to go walking around naked when you change back.”

Younghyun snorts.

“At first, we were actually going to the other shack, let’s call it shack one, on the other side of the lake, but then Wonpil called us when he realized you weren’t at the shop anymore,” Dowoon continues.

“Yeah, and then Sungjin freaked out and went full wolf to find your scent. Which lead us here—shack two. He’s lucky I gathered up his clothes after he changed,” she says, a gleeful grin on her face. “I’m totally teasing him about that later.”

“And I went back to check shack one just in case,” Jinyoung says.

The number of times the word shack has been mentioned has Younghyun’s mind reeling. But okay, in the end they made it to the right shack.

“Yeah, and then just as we were getting close, Younghyun screamed and freaking exploded the doors and windows off the shack! It was so sick,” Dowoon says.

“You’re a total badass, Younghyun,” says Jamie, patting his shoulder. “It takes witches a lot of practice and power to be able to do something like that without using a spell.”

“Thank you,” Younghyun murmurs. Truthfully, he doesn’t think he has it in him to do anything like that ever again. He rests his head against the window of the car, his eyelids heavy, the dull pain of a headache beginning to set in. He starts to tune out the conversation in the backseat, gazing out the window instead. Sungjin is outside talking to a police officer—the story they were giving was that the two men had killed Jaebeom, and then unfortunately been attacked by wild animals.

Younghyun worries for a moment whether the police will buy their story. That is, until he catches a glimpse of a heart shaped tattoo on the officer’s finger.

Younghyun shakes his head, a tired smile curving up his lips. Clearly, he still has a lot to learn about their town and the extent of the supernatural presence here. It’s a miracle that his mom ever hid all of this from him in the first place.

Sungjin gets into the car a few minutes later. “Let’s go,” he says. He glances at Younghyun before starting the car.

Younghyun nearly falls asleep a few times during the drive back to the Park house. But every time he starts drifting off, someone in the backseat happens to say something or laugh. Loudly. He startles awake, heart racing, before his eyelids start to become heavy again, his head falling against the window. And each time, his headache gets worse, the pounding getting steadier and harder.

It’s a vicious cycle. And he just wants to sleep.

The third time it happens, Sungjin growls, “ _Shut up._ ”

And they do.

Younghyun wants to tell him that it’s okay, they’re just excited, and he finds his hand on the gear shift to get his attention. He twines their fingers together and Sungjin shoots him a surprised look which quickly morphs into concern, his eyebrows drawing together. What happens next has Younghyun forgetting what he was trying to say—the veins along Sungjin’s forearm turn black, pulsing, and the pounding in his head slowly eases.

Younghyun blinks a few times in surprise. Now that the pain is gone, all he feels is the comforting vibrations of the car, the promise of safety with Sungjin’s hand held tightly in his—and the pull of sleep is stronger than ever. His eyes flutter closed, his head falling to the side against the window.

 _He’ll have to ask about the vein thing later,_ is the last thing he thinks before he finally falls asleep.

+++

Younghyun wakes up with a start, his heart racing. He tries to remember what he had dreamed about, clutching at the memories drifting away, but he comes up empty handed.

He frowns. Usually, he can remember every moment of the death predicting dreams.

There’s a soft knock at the door.

“Younghyun?” Sungjin peeks in. He enters after he sees Younghyun sitting up in bed.

“Did you have another dream?” he asks.

Younghyun nods. “Yeah, but I think it was just a normal one. Not a magic dream.” His hand reflexively finds Sungjin’s and he grips it tightly. “Did I make a noise or something?”

Sungjin shakes his head, looking away. “Your scent changed. And your heartbeat sped up a lot.”

“Oh.”

Sungjin stares down at the floor looking like a kicked puppy. “I’m sorry, I swear I’m not doing it on purpose. Even when I’m not thinking of you, somehow a part of my mind still is.”

That’s strangely romantic. In a werewolf-y kind of way.

Younghyun tugs on Sungjin’s hand to get him to look at him again. “Stay?”

Sungjin stares at him with wide eyes for a moment. “Are you sure?”

“Why do you keep asking that? Of course, I’m sure, or I wouldn’t ask.”

“Okay,” Sungjin whispers.

Sungjin climbs onto the bed, keeping the same distance between them as he did the last time. But Younghyun isn’t having it. He’s tired, and all he wants is the comfort of having someone nearby. Of having _Sungjin_ nearby.

He shifts closer on his side until the distance between them is just a hair’s breadth. If he moves even slightly, he’ll be pressed against Sungjin’s side. But Sungjin seems tense, his arms pressed against his body as if he’s scared to move. Younghyun doesn’t want to push him too far by closing the distance entirely.

So instead, he finds Sungjin’s hand again, like he had the other night, twining their fingers together.

Sungjin holds on tightly, staring up at the ceiling.

“What I meant was, are you sure you want _me_ to stay?”

“What?” Younghyun whispers.

“I could go get someone else, Dowoon, or Jamie—”

“That makes zero sense Sungjin. Why would I want anyone else?”

Younghyun can just make out Sungjin’s features through the dim light starting to come in through the curtains. His eyebrows are drawn together; his lips pressed into a slight frown.

Younghyun reaches out with his free hand, smoothing out the wrinkles on Sungjin’s forehead, and his eyes flutter shut, his features finally relaxing. Sungjin catches Younghyun’s hand before he can pull away, and presses a kiss to his palm, inhaling the scent of his skin.

Younghyun suppresses a smile. He falls asleep with his wrist still half draped over Sungjin’s face.

+++

Younghyun wakes up later, alone in Sungjin’s room.

 _Strange._ How is it still dark out?

He gets out of bed and follows the smell of food to the kitchen, his stomach grumbling loudly.

“Sleeping beauty finally awakens,” Mrs. Park says with a smile. She brings him leftovers from the dinner he had missed while he was asleep, and Younghyun starts inhaling the food.

“We thought you were dead, you slept for like twenty-four hours,” Dowoon says. “You even slept through Sungjin and I washing the blood off of you and putting you in clean clothes.”

“I did wake up once in the night,” Younghyun says mildly.

“Yeah, but Sungjin didn’t think it was important enough to tell us that,” Dowoon grumbles.

Jamie grins. “Dowoon asked if you were dead while we were having dinner, and Sungjin was immediately like ‘He’s alive.’” She smiles as she checks her nails, looking pleased with herself. “Then I teased him for listening to your heartbeat.”

Dowoon rolls his eyes. “Yeah, and you pissed him off. He’s been all moody ever since.”

“He said he can’t help it. Listening to my heartbeat,” Younghyun says between bites, still eating like his life depends on it.

Mrs. Park nods, “It’s only natural.”

“What do you mean, I don’t go around listening to random people’s heartbeats,” Dowoon says glancing between them, as if he’s scared that he’s missing out on something.

“Younghyun is not a random person, dear,” Mrs. Park says.

“Okay, I don’t go around listening to Younghyun’s heartbeat,” Dowoon says, still looking confused.

Jamie smacks the back of his head. “You’ll understand when you’re older, loser. Let’s go clean up the car like we promised, or Sungjin is gonna be doubly pissed at us.”

“You’re the one who made him mad in the first place,” Dowoon says, rubbing at his head, but he still follows after Jamie obediently.

“Feeling better?” Mrs. Park asks after Younghyun downs his third plate of food.

He nods. It’s nice, after years of fending for himself in New York, to have someone take care of him. And then tears prick his eyes—he misses his mom again.

Damn it, was this never going to end.

Mrs. Park must have some mind reading powers along with her werewolf ones, because she pats his hand lightly. “Time will heal all wounds, sweet one.”

Younghyun sighs.

+++

Younghyun finds Sungjin in the living room, staring out the window into the darkness. He goes to sit beside him on the couch. Younghyun wonders if Sungjin can see something he can’t, because he seems entranced, deep in his thoughts. All Younghyun can see outside is pitch black, and the vague outline of the tree out front.

He bites his lip. He feels bad interrupting when Sungjin seems so focused, but a question has been nagging at him ever since he saw Mrs. Park’s amber eyes.

“That night in my mom’s garden, that grey wolf was you, right?”

Sungjin turns away from the window to look at him. He nods, a blush creeping up his cheeks.

“Were you checking up on me or something?”

“No! I—” He pauses, looking away for a moment. “I followed your scent. You smelled sad.”

“Oh.”

Younghyun’s eyelids are starting to feel heavy again after eating dinner, so he drops his head onto Sungjin’s shoulder. Sungjin tenses beneath him.

“I’m sorry,” Younghyun says. He remembers the last time he sat here, when Mrs. Park asked him to have patience with Sungjin. “Is this too much?” he asks, lifting the weight of his head.

Sungjin shakes his head, relaxing slightly. “It’s okay,” he says quietly. And then he’s doing the sniffing thing again, but Younghyun is surprised to note that it’s not as distracting anymore. Maybe he’s starting to get used to it.

Younghyun’s eyes flutter shut, his mind starting to drift off.

“You're not scared?” Sungjin asks.

“Right now? No, why would I be scared?” Younghyun murmurs. “Wait, those guys are dead, right?”

That thought has his eyes snapping open. Were they going to resurrect or something? The last few weeks have been weird, but Younghyun doesn’t think he can deal with zombies.

Fortunately, Sungjin nods, his cheek brushing against the top of Younghyun’s head. “They’re dead.”

He relaxes against Sungjin’s side again. No zombies. That’s good.

Sungjin starts tracing Younghyun’s fingers with his own. “Earlier, then? Were you scared?”

Younghyun furrows his eyebrows. Where was Sungjin going with these questions? If he was able to hear Younghyun’s heartbeat and even smell his sadness before, he surely would have been able to tell when he was scared. Younghyun lifts his head from Sungjin’s shoulder to turn and face him. “Of course, I was scared,” he says slowly. “I was kidnapped by witch hunters.”

He hasn’t reached the answer Sungjin wants though, because he seems frustrated, running a hand through his hair.

“No, of _me._ ”

Younghyun blinks in surprise. “Scared of you? But why? Because you’re a werewolf?”

Sungjin nods, eyes wide in expectation.

“Sungjin, in the last few days, I’ve found out my mom was a witch, and that I have witchy powers too. Also, that vampires exist. Werewolves aren’t that surprising.”

Sungjin looks so hopeful that it hurts Younghyun’s heart. How could he ever think that Younghyun would be scared of him?

“You have never scared me once, Sungjin,” he says. “Except when dream wolf you came to the garden,” he amends. “I was pretty scared at first, but after that it was nice.” Younghyun gives him a reassuring smile.

Sungjin’s lips tick up into a small smile of his own in return.

“Besides, I kind of already knew before you came to the rescue.”

Sungjin’s smile disappears, his eyebrows furrowing. “What? How?”

“Well, _you_ might have been keeping it a secret, but no one else was,” Younghyun says. “Your grandma flashed her eyes at me the first time I came back here, and then I realized that they were the same colour as my dream wolf’s eyes. Then that vampire guy, Jae? He told me that I smell like a dog and asked if I’m the alpha’s mate. Then Wonpil was saying something weird about Twilight. Also, you kept smelling me. So, I can’t say I’m surprised by this turn of events.”

Sungjin’s face goes from amused to annoyed to embarrassed over the course of Younghyun’s explanation, and it’s somehow extremely endearing.

“Why didn’t you just tell me? You told me about all the other magical stuff,” Younghyun says.

“I thought you’d be scared, or find it creepy or weird.”

Younghyun rolls his eyes. “I see the way people will die in my dreams, Sungjin. I think I can handle creepy and weird.” Younghyun wraps his arms around Sungjin and smiles, drawing him closer. Sungjin’s eyes slide half shut as his hands land on Younghyun’s waist. He presses his nose against Younghyun’s neck, breathing deeply, his entire body relaxing as if the tension was melting away.

Younghyun’s smile grows. Definitely weird. But he likes it—Sungjin is _his_ weird.

“So, _am I_ your mate,” he asks teasingly, and Sungjin’s arms tighten around him in surprise.

“Only if you want to be?” He sounds nervous, the question asked softly.

“But _you_ want me to be?” Younghyun counters.

Sungjin laughs, pulling away to look at Younghyun’s face. “That’s not even a question. I’ve wanted you since we were kids.” He pushes Younghyun’s hair from his eyes, and then his fingers move to hover over his scraped and bruised cheekbone.

“Really?” Younghyun asks in surprise.

Sungjin nods, the tips of his fingers now brushing lightly over the edge of the bruise.

“Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

Sungjin looks so heartbreakingly sad, his eyebrows drawn together. “We were so young. I didn’t really understand what I felt until it was too late and you were already moving away.” He holds Younghyun in his gaze and Younghyun finds himself unable to look away. “And then when you came back—let’s just say those feelings never went away like I thought they did.”

Younghyun draws Sungjin closer again, and presses a chaste kiss to his lips. It’s gentle and sweet, and Sungjin sighs into it, speaking volumes with that one sound—seeming to say, _finally._ His hands move around to hold Younghyun tighter by the small of his back.

“I think I figured out what my type is,” Younghyun says as they pull apart.

“Really?” Sungjin asks, sounding genuinely curious. “What is it?”

Younghyun grins, pausing to let the suspense kick in.

“It’s you.”

Sungjin’s lips part in surprise, and then he lets out a huff of annoyance, pushing Younghyun down onto the couch ever so gently, mindful of his bumps and bruises.

Younghyun laughs as they go down. “Did I scare you?”

Sungjin’s eyes sparkle in amusement before he’s leaning in and kissing Younghyun like he means it. If their first kiss was sweet, a new beginning—this one was a promise. Making up for all the years spent apart, a promise that those times were finally over.

Younghyun tangles his fingers through Sungjin’s hair as they kiss—it’s soft, so different from the rough fur of the wolf. Sungjin moves lower, nosing at Younghyun’s jaw and then his neck, kissing his throat. Younghyun lets out a soft noise.

“You like that?” Sungjin asks, his voice low, still peppering kisses to his neck.

Younghyun’s eyelids flutter, feeling as dazed as he did after the _kiss_ on his front step. “I liked it the first time you did it too.”

Sungjin freezes and pulls away with wide eyes, looking mortified, but Younghyun drags him back down before he can run away again.

When they eventually break apart for air, Younghyun can’t help the smile that breaks across his face—Sungjin finally seems completely relaxed. As if this is what he had been waiting for all along.

And this time it’s Sungjin’s turn to ask, “Will you stay?”

As Younghyun gazes up at him, he thinks maybe, he’d be okay with never going back to New York.

Maybe he’d be fine staying right here.

**Author's Note:**

> so i was supposed to be writing my multi-chapter fic (haha) but then i was reading a bunch of sterek fics and then my brain was like WEREWOLF SUNGJIN. NOW. and then i wrote 10k of this story in four days (how??). so yes. this happened. also, werewolves in this fic turn full wolf like in twilight, or partway with just the eyes/teeth/claws, because honestly, werewolves in teen wolf are too ugly and i am here for the aesthetics.
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/_strawberryke)


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